“He’s making it sound worse than it is.” Eli looked far more worried about earning Della’s approval than his friend had been. “I know for a fact that his captain took advantage of a lady, and he was only trying to defend her honor. As for his family, they cut him off after he was discharged without even hearing his side of the story. I don’t think he wants to say more because of his pride, but it hasn’t been easy for him. He’s a good man, Della.”
“It doesn’t make things any better if he was starting duels over some sort of love triangle! You see why it would be dangerous to put that kind of man into a club full of women, don’t you?”
Why did she have to be the one to convince Eli this was a terrible idea? Normally other people tried to convinceherthat she was the one with a terrible idea, and she quite preferred it that way! She wasn’t meant to be the voice of reason.
“If Jane were here, she would tell you Mr. Corbyn is entirely unsuitable.”
Eli winced at the accusation, but clapped back. “You and I both know that Jane can be overly cautious sometimes.” He seemed to regret the words only a second later, for he quickly amended, “And we love her for it, even if we don’t always have to make the same choice she would.”
Easy for him to say. Eli wasn’t the one trying to fill Jane’s shoes.
“Besides, it wasn’t a love triangle,” he added. “When I said ‘took advantage,’ I didn’t mean that his captain simply violated propriety. I gather he was actually trying to harm her. Corbyn was very tight-lipped about it, but I understood that much.”
“Oh.”
That took the wind from Della’s sails. If he was protecting a woman in need, he deserved her respect.
But, oh, it would be easier to bestow it if he hadn’t been so rude!
“I still don’t like him,” she muttered. “He can’t swear like that in front of the ladies. And he needs to learn to smile on occasion, or he’ll scare them off.”
She was speaking as if she was going to hire him. Why did she have such a hard time saying no to a sad story?
“Thank you.” Eli recognized his victory for what it was, but he was graceful enough not to revel in it. “You won’t regret this. I’ll talk to him about his language.”
Della heaved a sigh. “You’re responsible for him if anything goes wrong. Keep an eye on him, won’t you?”
“I’ll go start training him for the extra vingt-et-un table right now, only I can’t stay all night. I have to leave in about an hour.”
“What?” This news transformed Della’s voice into a high-pitched squeak. “You’re leaving me alone? But we have the musicians coming any minute!”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t realize you’d planned that for tonight. I promised my mother I’d fetch her some things from the apothecary. She’s been feeling poorly lately. I thought you wouldn’t need me since we’re slower on Tuesdays, but I can try to get back here afterward if you think it will be too much for you.”
Della didn’t like this one bit, but what was she supposed to do, beg Eli to stay? If his mother wasn’t well, she could hardly hold it against him. And though he probably hadn’t meant anything by it, she bristled at the suggestion that managing the club alone on a Tuesday might be too much for her.
“No, I can handle it,” she said with a sigh. “Butpromise meyou’ll make sure Mr. Corbyn knows what he’s doing before you go. I won’t have time to check in on him if I’m all alone.”
“I promise. Thank you, Della!”
Eli hurried out the door, no doubt eager to impart the good news to his friend. She wondered if Mr. Corbyn would be half so excited by it.
By this point it was ten minutes to opening and Della hadn’t done anything she’d intended. She hurried to the kitchen to make sure everything was ready. Cook had fallen behind and was still scooping the filling into her lemon tarts, but there was nothing Della could do for this except urge her on and rush back out again. The musicians had arrived ages ago, and no one had told them where to set up their instruments while she’d been shut up in her office. Della would have liked to consult Eli, but there was no time. She frantically instructed the waitstaff to push the card tables in the largest room closer together to free up a patch of floor in the corner. Not very elegant, but it would have to do. Perhaps she should construct a little platform for next time. Get a carpenter in here and make an elevated area so the sound would carry better. She should ask Jane what she thought.
“I need to run,” said Eli, appearing at her shoulder without any warning. “I explained everything to Corbyn, and he promises not to swear in front of the women. Are you all set here?”
Of course I’m not!Della wanted to say. A few early arrivals had already begun streaming in, and no one was ready to greet them except their doorman. They were still rearranging the furniture. Couldn’t he see all the work to be done?
“Of course I am,” she replied through clenched teeth. “You go on.”
The moment he left, she turned to the musicians. “You can set up just that way, gentlemen. Please keep the music lively. Oh, and no polka!”
Lady Eleanor didn’t care for it, and if she complained everyone else would follow suit.
“But that’s what we’d prepared!” the clarinetist protested. It was too late. He was already speaking to her back as Della fled shamelessly from this problem.
She spent the next half hour welcoming Lady Eleanor and Mrs. Duff and several other of their loyal regulars, until a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Miss Danby?” It was Geórgios, an old friend of Eli’s whose enormous physique made him a particularly imposing doorman. They operated on a system of subscription memberships, and it was his job to make sure no one got in unless they were on the list. “You asked me to tell you if Mrs. Muller came back.” He motioned to the cluster of ladies who had just come through the cloakroom.
